


To Another Galaxy

by rainydayadvocate



Category: Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1
Genre: Chocolate Box Exchange 2018, F/M, Missing Scene, Stolen Moments, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 05:39:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13675368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainydayadvocate/pseuds/rainydayadvocate
Summary: Atlantis is without a commander, and Stargate Command has a Colonel without a command of her own. Jack comes to give Sam the good news that the project is hers, but she's not as happy about the offer as he'd hoped, and for reasons that shouldn't have been said out loud.Story takes place between S04E02 and S04E03 of Stargate: Atlantis.





	To Another Galaxy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [craterdweller](https://archiveofourown.org/users/craterdweller/gifts).



Sam walked into the SGC the morning after returning from Atlantis with a stiff neck. Next time she had to make a call to the city, she'd be sure to thank John for his graceful landing on M35-117.

Though she suspected the stiffness wasn't all rough rides in the Pegasus Galaxy. This was the first time she'd come into work, like it was a regular day, since she'd been promoted off of SG1. Her workspace was still her workspace, her office was still her office, and yet she knew she was just waiting. A colonel would not be allowed to keep her her quiet workspace for long.

Landry had hinted at the possibility of a command for her, but Sam admittedly couldn't think of one that would be a natural fit. The SGC was more home to her than anywhere else had ever been. It was hard to imagine walking away from Cheyenne Mountain after ten years into a new command.

She tried to focus on her work, but could sense someone standing in the doorway. She looked up and met Jack's eyes. The smile on his face was meant for her alone, and she returned it with a grin. "Sir, I didn't know you were coming."

Jack approached her and shrugged. "Our very own Colonel Carter swooped in aboard the Apollo, rescued Atlantis, and got it reconnected to Midway station. That kind of report felt like it required a trip all the way from Washington. Also, I miss mountains. I wanted to see mountains."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "You miss the SGC more than you miss the mountains."

"Eh...we'll call it a toss-up." He nodded out into the hallway. "I'm also here on official business. Come on, we'll borrow Landry's office."

They walked down the hall together to the elevator, stepping in side by side. Sam let out a breath and sighed. Being in elevators with Jack was difficult. She didn't exactly have much time for romantic comedies, but she knew enough clichés to know that elevators were a place for secrets. Riding alone in the elevator with Jack always made her want a cliché, secret moment. The fleeting thoughts would be more romantic if she didn't know where to find every camera in said elevator.

"You okay?" Jack asked, glancing over at her.

"Me? Yeah, why?"

"You had a look on your face, like you were disappointed. I haven't even given you the bad news yet." The doors opened and they walked onto the command floor together.

"Bad news?" she asked, following him to Landry's office. Jack closed the door behind her. "Alpha site? Please tell me it's not the alpha site."

Jack laughed and took a seat behind the desk. He opened every drawer before exclaiming, "ah ha!" and pulling out a candy bar. "No, not Alpha site. But I'm sure it doesn't surprise you that you will not be re-assigned to SG1."

Sam also took a seat and nodded. "I suppose after the promotion that was inevitable, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. That's typically how these things work. I was allowed to lead SG1 until they made me a general. Then they made me sit at a desk. You are a full colonel and you need a command. But Mitchell has SG1."

"Right. So why are you stalling?"

"Am I stalling?" Jack asked through a mouth of Snickers.

"Yes."

"Oh. Well." He considered it for a minute, pausing to swallow and lean forward, his hands folded on the desk. "Sam, the IOA approved you for Atlantis."

Sam blinked and stared at him. "Sir, what did you just say?"

"Atlantis, Sam. The IOA has approved it and I'm here to ask you to take command of the Atlantis project."

"Wow," was all Sam could say. For some reason, Atlantis had never occurred to her, especially not from the IOA. "I thought they wanted to bring in another scientist, like Dr. Weir, to run the operation."

"And I _dare_ you to name a more qualified scientist than you, in either galaxy." Jack grinned and finished off the candy bar. "Come on, Sam, you have to be excited about this. It's okay to be excited, you know."

"It's Atlantis, Jack."

"Yes, and you deserve it."

"Do I?"

"Of course you do," he said, as serious as she'd ever heard him. "You absolutely do. And I hope you'll accept."

"Jack—" But she couldn't think of any arguments. At least, no arguments she could voice out loud. At the top of the unnameable list: she didn't want to be a galaxy away from Jack, with very little access to Earth. Washington was difficult enough, but the Pegasus Galaxy, long term? What if something happened here? Or there? How would she sleep at night?

There was the nameable list of reasons not to take this command as well. Her experience was better suited to an SG team, for example. And her expertise were in this galaxy, not a different one. Besides—"Rodney works on Atlantis."

"Oh come on," Jack said, leaning back in his chair and resting his feet on the edge of the desk. "McKay isn't that bad."

"He is. And it's worse because he likes me."

"Shouldn't that make it better? If he likes you, he probably respects you."

"No, Jack. He _likes_ me. Has a crush on me."

"Oh," Jack said quietly, nodding his head a little. "That is awkward. But I still think you should do it."

"Why?"

"Why?" Jack parroted, shaking his head. "You listen to me, Samantha Carter. No one in this entire facility deserves a command more than you do. And it should speak _volumes_ that the IOA is willing to put the military in charge of Atlantis. And do you know why they're willing? Because of the lot of us, you're one of the few they actually respect! I don't know that the IOA's respect is worth much, but it's no small thing to earn regardless. You should go to Atlantis because you deserve to, you're the best qualified person on this planet, and you'll do a damn fine job of it."

Jack's string of compliments—given in his best military commander voice—made Sam blush. "Thank you, sir, but I—"

"I really don't want to hear a 'but,' Carter."

"But I really don't want to be that far from you!" she blurted.

It was out. She couldn't take it back. Suddenly Landry's office felt way too hot, and there didn't seem to be anywhere to look where she couldn't meet Jack's gaze.

The silence hung for what felt like twenty minutes, but Sam was pretty sure it was maybe thirty seconds. Jack was the one to break it with a sigh. "Well. I suppose there is that," he said. He stood up, and Sam did the same, still not looking him in the eye. "Listen, Sam. Go to Atlantis. Be the best damn commander we've ever had for an off-world team. I know you will be." He paused. "And then, after you've been out there long enough to earn a few commendations and a promotion to Brigadier General, somebody's going to have to retire to make room for you to have a desk in Washington." He said it in a whisper, as if he was telling her a secret. Of course, for all she knew, he'd been plotting this latest attempt at retirement for months.

Sam bit on the inside of her cheek as she dared to meet his gaze. "Would that certain someone actually stayed retired this time?"

"So that Brigadier General Carter could share an apartment with him in Washington? Yes, I think so."

Sam blushed again, worse than before. "You know, sir," she said, in a voice just as low as his, "I think I'm all right with that plan."

"You are?" he asked. And there was that smile again, the smile she'd never seen him use for anyone else.

"I am. I guess that means I should get ready to move to another galaxy."

"I guess you should. I'm sure you'll find a checklist of everything you need on the internet."

Sam laughed, shook her head. "Thank you. And I assume you suggested me to the IOA?"

Jack opened the office door and motioned to his chest. "Me? Demand you get the best assignments and overdue promotions? I would never meddle in your life like that." He grinned. "I need to meet with Landry, but I'll stay until we see you off."

"Thank you, sir."

"Good luck, Colonel."


End file.
